The Shortcut (2009)

A tasty teen horror where an old man with a dark secret will make you heed the warning of the next "No Trespassing" sign you come across.

Half a century ago some teens go missing after taking a shortcut through some dense woods on private property, and a legend is born. This is the setting of Nicholaus Goosen's (Grandma's Boy) horror thriller where some curious teenagers lead by Derek (Andrew Seeley), are off to explore an old man's private land after his brother is threatened in the woods after being dared to take the shortcut. Teaming up with a high school football player, Taylor (Josh Emerson), who is in search of his missing dog, they head off for some answers. There is little time for teen romance while friends come to grizzly ends as little do they know that the old man has a secret he's been hiding for years, and it's worth killing for.

Lots of unjust reviews for this film. However, I personally thought it was pretty average, which is way better than what a lot of people have said. Straight off, for a non theater released B movie, the acting and production value was feature film quality. I was pleasantly surprised. It was nice seeing Josh Emerson, who I just recently saw in a small part in I Love You, Beth Cooper, have a larger role with more substance. The story was your basic old scrooge who keeps to himself so beware type, but with a few twists near the end that really helped set it apart. Typical of the genre? Absolutely, but you could do a lot worse.

6.6/10

Rated: PG-13
85 mins